Cuddling with ayatollahs: SA’s costly relations with Iran

The South African government’s warm relations with Iran risks costing the country thousands of jobs, exacerbating already fraught relations with Washington, and exposing the country to secondary sanctions related to MTN’s allegedly dodgy deals in Iran.

“South Africa’s relationship with Iran is morally hypocritical, ideologically cynical, and in all likelihood venally corrupt. It’s a stain on South Africa’s stated ideals and on the legacy of the African National Congress’s [ANC’s] struggle for liberation from tyranny. It positions South Africa not as a beacon of freedom, democracy, and human rights, but as a willing enabler of war, terrorism, and repression.”

This is the damning judgement from a new report by the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI) titled “Ties to Tehran: South Africa’s Democracy and its Relations with Iran”. It chronicles the extensive and complex relations between Tehran and Pretoria from apartheid days, through the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and into today’s “genocide” case against Israel brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The report drew scorn from Mondli Makhanya, the editor-in-chief of City Press, who totally rejected the notion that South Africa is a supine Iranian puppet. He sees it as another effort to undermine the ICJ case.

But Dr Glen Segell, a professor at the University of Cambridge said, “There is no rational justification for the ANC government’s ongoing association with Iran’s theocratic regime, which is eroding South Africa’s democratic principles and strategic objectives.”

South Africa has frequently gone in to bat for Iran at the United Nations, and supported its recent membership of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates) organisation. The report said, “Too often, solidarity with a fellow developing country has trumped concerns about the violation of the stated pillars of South Africa’s foreign policy, the violation of international norms, or the violation of non-proliferation agreements.”

Hussein Solomon, an international relations professor at the University of the Free State, said, “Ideologically, the ANC is close to the Iranian regime, and has always been acting in partnership with it in international fora and protecting it on the international stage.

“I don’t think this dance with the Iranians is helping us, helping our national interests, foreign policy, or our image,” Solomon said, with the threat of US sanctions looming. “Our automotive industry, our citrus farmers will all be negatively affected by the US’s 30% tariffs. At this particular stage, is it wise to [tick] off the Americans?”

MEARI’s director, Benji Shulman, said its intention in producing this research was to dispel confusion and misunderstanding about the nature of the South Africa-Iran relationship, “why it exists and what it costs our country to maintain it”. It demonstrates “the fact that we’re a democracy in South Africa, and we’re dealing with a theocracy that is opposed to America, Israel, and much of the rest of the world”.

“What surprised me most was the two-faced nature of the Iranian regime,” Shulman said, “It was always loudly pro-ANC and the struggle, but was doing oil and weapons deals with the apartheid regime at the same time.”

Shulman hopes that this report helps people make sound decisions. It lays out how allegedly dodgy dealings by telecoms giant MTN helped cement bilateral relations between the two countries, and the established patterns of Iranian influence on South Africa. He hopes the report will provide proper context on MTN’s latest Iran-related legal wrangles.

The evidence for Iran’s involvement in the ICJ case is “circumstantial”, said Shulman, and entirely plausible, but “the smoking gun” remains elusive. “There is no new evidence to substantiate the claim that Iranian funds are involved in the ICJ case,” Segell said.

But that hasn’t squashed speculation of an Iranian hand in this. “I certainly think that a fair chunk of money has gone into the coffers of the ANC from the Iranians, and there’s probably some [conditions] attached,” said Israeli journalist Rolene Marks. “One is to take aim at the state of Israel. The strategy is going to backfire on South Africa, which seems to be aligning more and more with rogue states. South Africa has established itself as a massive hypocrite on the world stage by not following through with warrants against real dictators, real genocidal leaders, but pushing forward with the sham case against Israel.”

Said Segell, “South Africa cannot have it both ways. It’s not feasible to welcome Iran’s ayatollahs while anticipating a warm reception in the West. The double standards in South Africa’s foreign policy have tangible consequences. There’s no sign that the ANC government intends to alter its policy on Iran.”

But other analysts reject this either-or approach. Gustavo de Carvalho, senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said, “The premise that South Africa must choose between Iran and the United States reflects a zero-sum mindset that misunderstands both contemporary diplomatic realities and the concept of democratic legitimacy itself.

“South Africa’s trade with Iran is negligible compared to countries like Brazil, India, or Germany. However, indeed, the relationship extends beyond commercial considerations to include historical solidarity from the anti-apartheid era; shared positions on sovereignty and sanctions regimes; and participation in the non-aligned movement. Although South Africa and Iran share closer positions on the current war in Palestine, their approaches differ markedly: South Africa pursued multilateral partnerships through its ICJ case, which extended to the creation of The Hague Group, working alongside Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Slovenia, and Mexico to advance legal accountability through international institutions.

“The scope for meaningful binary choices remains limited,” said De Carvalho, “particularly when US expectations are unclear. Does Washington seek complete severance of ties with Iran, changes to South Africa’s ICJ position, or something else entirely? Will similar pressure be applied to Brazil, India, or Germany? US pressure may intensify, but success remains unlikely without compelling incentives that collectively persuade countries like South Africa to abandon diplomatic autonomy in favour of alignment.”

Nevertheless, this report meticulously unpacks the storied history of the Iran-South Africa relationship to contextualise contemporary developments.